Scarborough Lodge Motel Hanmer Springs

... see what the noise was then went back to sleep!!! We watched them for about 10 minutes before getting back into the car to go to Hanmer springs.

We reached Hanmer about 10am, sleepy town at first we thought, they as we walked around we realised nothing opened until either 10 or 11am! Then it got a little busy! We had a coffee while we decided what we would do.

After coffee and a walk ...

We went to Hanmer Springs for the famous hot pools there. It's a tiny town & we were staying in the local hostel which was really small. It was like a wooden lodge with one small fire in the dining area and there was frost on the ground! It was freezing! We had 2 duvets and I slept in my fleece & was still cold. We headed to the hot pools in the morning to thaw out but had to walk ...

... departure so I can get to Kaikoura on my birthday... swimming with the dolphins on my birthday would be totally magical!! I'm delighted when Jackie phones me up to tell me she'll be on the bus too! will be great to spend my birthday with her! I go out with a few guys for a pre-birthday drink who I will not see the next day and here we go back on the bus the next day... -------------------------------------- French summary Et nous voila partis de Queenstown. Longue ...

... de retour. Guylaine est la, pour me supporter... et renouer avec la plongée, ça fait deux ans pour elle, elle se sent un peu rouillée. Je lui ai même donné un petit cours de rafraîchissement la veille dans le camper. Le vent vient du large, ça fait pas mal de vague et la visibilité est merdique, comme d'habitude... L'instructeur a tenu la main de ma blonde tout au long de la plongée... Il l'attirait dans des petites crevasses pour lui montrer de belles ...

... and the point of my title, I met a few people for some beers then stopped into Base bar for a drink, wound up winning a bar contest of rock paper scissors, and won a $50 bar tab! The crowd hated that an American won, which made it all the sweeter! :) Tomorrow afternoon I fly back to Wellington to spend the weekend with Gary and Jude and am so excited to spend the weekend with them and their 3 boys ...

... Milford Sound which was very cool, and luckily all the mornings rain had cleared up and left blue skies and gushing waterfalls, which Pete got a bit close to and got soaked whilst I ran inside, blocking the doorway (ooops!) and took the photos! We then visited the Clifton caves and saw the rugged Catlins coastline which was pretty and home to the Yellow-Eyed Penguins, some of the worlds rarest. We also saw more seals, sea lions and possibly some elephant ...

... on the hunt to get a close-up picture and still have a few days left. On Tuesday we have decided, as long as the weather is nice to drive to the west coast for the day through Lewis Pass just north of Hanmer Springs. Our flight back to Sydney doesn't leave until 5:00 pm on Wednesday, so we'll have most of that day to make it back to Christchurch. It was recommended we go to the Antarctic Center near the airport for a ...

... suddenly as the mountains had appeared, the land became a flat patchwork of coloured paddocks. Why some areas were created as circles I don't know - maybe the remains of alien visits years ago!! So now in the Base Hostel I am deciding on where to go next and what to do. I had thought of heading south to Stewert Island and the Catlins, though now will most likely continue north and spend a little more time on route to Auckland. Christchurch is a ...

Apologies for the delays its been hard to keep this updated....since last writing we have been in Rarotonga, spent a month travelling over New Zealand and have spent a week in Melbourne!!! In review.... After 7 weeks in the US and Canada we were defintely ready to move on. The various state taxes, car orientated living and rampant consumer culture had taken its toll on us lowly travellers so we were oth ready for something abit more easy going.....a week in the south ...

Gisteren bleken ze in de Dolphin Lodge in Kaikoura opeens volgeboekt voor de komende nacht en omdat ik toch al in twijfel was of ik wel of niet naar Hanmer Springs zou gaan, besloot ik dit dus maar te doen.

Wat mij verteld was als een ritje van een uurtje, bleek een ritje van 2 uur door een prachtig heuvel landschap. Wel enorm bochtig, maar bochtjes rijden wordt op een gegeven ...